


The Nameless

by Satranic



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Action, Eventual Romance, Identity, Other, Punk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29926443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satranic/pseuds/Satranic
Summary: A 23 year old drifter with no name meets an unlikely friend during a tense encounter with a town judge.
Relationships: Original D&D Character(s)/Original D&D Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	The Nameless

With the ringing of the morning bell from the nearest town, the nameless awoke. They rolled slightly, moving their head off of the mossy patch it had lulled onto in the night, and got up. The forest they’d slept in was thick, and the still-rising sun barely permeated the trees, but soon it would be bright. Soon, whoever it was that uses this forest to hunt would show up, and the nameless would be unceremoniously chased away, or worse. They got up, grabbed their meager provisions, and moved on. Based on the small permeations of sunlight, they were still walking south, although the specific forest and town they were in were unknown to them. The irony was not lost; they always felt more comfortable when they were alone, in these places unknown to them. Like somebody or something understood.

They walked, the rising sun finally lighting the sky up further as they came to a clearing overlooking the nearest town. Surveying it for a moment, they could see the streets were surprisingly populated for this early in the morning. Shit. That would make the task at hand much harder, and their hurting stomach confirmed that they needed to do this now.

They walked down through the clearing into the town, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. They knew that if they were noticed lurking around the scene of a crime, they’d be the prime suspect; a stranger to the town and instantly recognizable, their shock of bright blue hair standing out in a crowd no matter the size. For a second, they considered putting this off, waiting until they could get to another, smaller town, but the weakness in their legs reminded them of the urgency of their task.

Going down onto the street, they sat in front of an alley and waited, keeping an eye out for the wealthiest looking person to walk by. As minutes passed, they watched. Lots of folks walked by, very few glancing their way. As they started to lose their nerve, they saw a man, further back in the crowd, walking alone. The swell of people didn’t surround him, and he looked relatively wealthy, to boot. The nameless one also preferred to pick wealthy targets; they didn’t want to pass their hardship off to anybody else accidentally.

The crowd thinned out, and they saw the man walk nearby. Seeing their chance, they looked both ways to make sure nobody was looking in their direction, crept up behind him, and quickly slid a hand in his pocket.

Empty.

“Shit”, they thought, trying to turn to his other side. This had happened before and wasn’t a worry, usually; they knew they were quiet. But in a town this crowded, time was of the essence. Lost in thought, as they wrapped their hand around the money they could feel in the man’s other pocket, they didn’t notice the crate on the ground. The crate that their legs were just about to collide with.

With a crash, their leg kicked the crate a bit in front of the wealthy man, who turned quickly to his side. He narrowed his eyes as the nameless tried to back up, to look inconspicuous.

“Thief!”

The man walking towards them demandingly, people flowing out of nearby buildings and streets nearby, there seemed to be no out.

“No, you don’t understand… there was a roach, see, I was trying to crush it….”

The rich man guffawed humorlessly as the crowd of people moved closer.

“I can see you’re not from around here, so let me help you understand just how much of a mistake you made. I am Aenelis, judge of this town, and I promise I will see you hanged for this by the end of the day.”

“Please, I’ll leave at once. You’ll never encounter me again.”

The judge smirked. 

“Hard to encounter one who’s dead, isn’t it?”

The nameless paused, looking around. Searching for their options. By now, the crowd that had amassed held them in tight, with even more people on the street blocking any potential escape route. There was an alley to their right, if they could only get to it, but the crowd was pushing them further towards their would-be executioner, aroused at the prospect of violence.

“What’s your name?” the Judge asked.

“I… I don’t have one.” was the reply.

At this, the judge’s temper flared. “You dare mock me when I hold your life in my hands? Very well!” He pulled a dagger from a pocket on the inside of his coat. He raised it, slowly. The nameless held their breath and began to silently pray.

The blade flashed. They grimaced, waiting.

“Come here! This way!”

A voice called from their right and they felt someone grabbing their hand and pulling them out of the path of the dagger. A tiefling woman of about 24 or 25 years was holding onto them, shoving the crowd out of the way and leading them into the alley. They barely had time to think, but they didn’t dare slow down or go back.

“There’s a ladder up to the roof. Follow me.”

They did so, watching as the woman jumped off the ground onto a ladder on the side of a building at the end of the alley. They climbed up as well, moving quickly as the sounds of the crowd’s angry voices and footprints filled the alley behind them. When they got to the roof-top, they noticed several people ascending after them.

“Where do we go now?” they asked, frantically.

“One second. Let me take care of this.” the stranger responded before moving over to the top of the ladder and gripping the steel tight. Grimacing her face, she bent at the steel, snapping it off the top of the roof in one smooth motion. The ladder fell to the ground on top of the people climbing it.

“Now, this way!” the stranger responded, before running to the edge of the roof. “You’re going to have to jump to the next building over there.”

“No way. I’ll fall. I haven’t eaten in several weeks, I already think I’m gonna pass out.”

“Fine, I’ll do it myself then.” the stranger said. She walked over to the nameless. “Get on my back.”

“What? No! We’ll both fall! Or I’ll fall off, or something.”

“Would you rather wait for the mob to get up here from the inside and tear you to pieces?”

The nameless grimaced, then wordlessly climbed onto the stranger’s back. She paused a second and took a deep breath. Downstairs, they could hear the crowd. The stranger seemed to hear this too, for she quickly perked up and ran to the edge of the building. When she got to it, she leapt.

It took them a second to realize that they had already landed on the other side. They heard a clattering noise, and looked to see that their mysterious benefactor had already moved to the middle of the ceiling, opening a vent cover.

“Hurry, we don’t want them to see where we’re going!”

They crawled over to the vent and followed their benefactor inside.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The vent led to a series of openings, one of which entered into what appeared to be a small apartment. Mostly abandoned, by the look of it; the walls were falling apart and the only things inside appeared to be a mattress on the floor, a stack of books, and a pile of food. It had taken them a minute to notice that the front door was bricked up from the inside and the only window had bars on it. They weren’t sure how much time had passed since they’d gotten inside; the woman had immediately beelined to the window to keep watch, and they had immediately begun eating some of the food from the pile. After some minutes, though, both of them seemed to calm enormously.

When the woman turned back to look at them, they noticed with some curiosity that she only had one eye.

“Name’s Vega. Nice to meet you.”

“Thanks. What is this place?”

Vega sat down next to them.

“This is a safehouse of sorts. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that this town is a little… backwards, and certain people bear that burden more than others. This is where I take people who seem to be in trouble. We wait until nightfall, then I get them out of the town.”

“Oh.” They paused, taking in what Vega was saying.

“Of course, they never knew I was the one helping folks before. They do now. So wherever you’re going, I guess I’m coming with you.”

“Oh. Sorry.” was the reply.

“Where are you going, anyhow?” Vega asked curiously.

“Don’t know, honestly. Wherever the best way out of here is, I guess.”

Vega laughed. “Alright. We can figure that out.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two of them spent most of the day in silence, lost in thought. Wondering how they’d each gotten in this position, and what the future might bring. Before either of them could notice, night had fallen. After Vega checked the window and determined the coast was clear, she helped the nameless up through the vent they’d come in through, then over onto a hill nearby. When the two surveyed the town to find their options, the nameless noticed an unmanned rowboat on a dock. They made their way over to it with Vega in close pursuit, and both took off together.

“What’s on the other side of the bay?” the nameless asked.

“A city called Carcavia. Nice place, from what I understand.” Vega replied.

The two rowed in silence for some time. Then Vega spoke again.

“Not much for words, are ya?” she asked.

“I guess not.” was the reply.

“I don’t think you’ve even told me your name yet.” Vega pried.

“I… haven’t got one.”

“What do you mean? What did your family call you?”

“I don’t know. My first memory is working in a textiles factory to support myself. Since I was so small, they had me crawl into the ducts of the machinery to make sure things worked right. I slept outside the factory gates. Never had a family, really. Eventually, one of the tubes containing some chemicals used to make the dyes broke and poured all over me. That’s why my hair’s the color it is. I swore I would never go back to a place like that again, so I’ve spent a long time since then just going from town to town to get food and supplies, then living in the woods.”

“That seems… dangerous.” Vega said.

“And what you’ve been up to isn’t?” the nameless shrugged.

“Fair point.”

They rowed a few more minutes in silence.

“Would you like one?” Vega asked.

“One what?”

“A name.”

“I… think so. Yes. I would very much like that.”

Vega stopped rowing and leaned back in the boat. “Look up at the stars.”

The nameless did as requested.

“Now what?” they asked.

“Any constellations stand out to you?”

They looked quizzically. The light reflecting off the still, black waters traced up to small, beautiful points in the sky. Completely free, suspended in their place and able to exist as they are. The water lapped lazily against the side of the boat, calming them further. By the time they had a decision, it had been nearly twenty minutes. The first twenty minutes they could ever remember feeling at peace, relaxed. The first twenty minutes they ever spent with the safety of a friend.

“There’s three stars that look like a triangle right above us. I like them.”

Vega smiled.

“That’s known as a delta.” she said. “So, how’s that sound for you?”

“Delta?”

“Yeah, as a name.”

They smiled. “I would like that, I think.”

“Well then! Nice to meet you, Delta.” Vega said, holding out a hand to shake.

“You as well.” Delta said in response, taking her hand.

The two sat like that, hand in hand, in the middle of the bay for several further hours. By the time they started to row again, the sun had peaked above the horizon once more and those ethereal lights in the sky were once again hidden. The boat cut through the water, joining a stream of many others from all over the kingdom that were entering the port of Carcavia.

And Delta and Vega entered the city of Carcavia and took the first step into their future.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading all the way down here! This is my first ever fic so I hope you liked it.
> 
> Thanks again, friendo! Without you, there would be no joy.


End file.
